Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Up 16.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Applied Optoelectronics shares jumped 16.3% on Monday, trading as high as $173.10 after closing at $148.94 the prior day. Volume was well below average, with about 3.8 million shares changing hands versus the 9.5 million daily average.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue rose 51.3% year over year to $151.14 million, but earnings came in below expectations at a loss of $0.07 per share versus the consensus loss of $0.05. It also guided Q2 2026 EPS to a range of -$0.03 to $0.03.
• Analyst sentiment remains split, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $79.80, even after some firms raised targets. Insider selling has also been notable, with 314,333 shares sold over the last 90 days.

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) rose 16.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $173.10 and last traded at $173.28. Approximately 3,824,276 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 9,489,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $43.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -280.78 and a beta of 3.76. The firm's 50-day moving average is $119.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.55. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $151.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.98 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 8.55% and a negative return on equity of 4.64%. Applied Optoelectronics's revenue was up 51.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.030-0.030 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post 0.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 36,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.25, for a total transaction of $3,649,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 233,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,420,204.50. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.10, for a total transaction of $4,855,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 322,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,271,152.10. The trade was a 13.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,262,106. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 24.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,272 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the period. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,335,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9.8% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 128,300 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,853,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.70% of the company's stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc develops and manufactures high-speed fiber-optic networking products designed to support the growing bandwidth demands of data centers, telecommunications carriers and internet content providers. The company's core offerings include pluggable optical transceiver modules, transponders and optical components that enable data transmission at rates ranging from 1G to 400G. These products are used to facilitate long-haul, metro and intra-data center connectivity, addressing the need for scalable, low-latency and energy-efficient solutions in modern network infrastructures.

The company's product portfolio spans small-form factor pluggable modules such as SFP+, QSFP+ and QSFP28 units, as well as more advanced form factors like CFP2 and OSFP for ultra-high-speed applications.

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